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Forestry project to fight poverty

Date 01/10/99 Author Xiao Zhao

A large forestry development project jointly sponsored by the Chinese Government and the World Bank is expected to help millions of rural people raise their living standards.

The Forestry Development in Poor Areas Project aims to develop forest resources in poor areas of central and western China on a sustainable and participatory basis to support poverty reduction, forestry development and improved environmental management, according to Qu Shuye, executive vice-chairman of the World Bank loan project leading group with the State Forestry Bureau.

Qu said the fight against poverty is the core of the project.

The Chinese Government has been conducting an ambitious nationwide anti-poverty campaign since 1994 to help 80 million rural residents escape poverty, basically eradicating poverty in rural areas by the end of the century.

According to Qu, the forestry project is to be initiated early this year and will be finished by 2006.

By that time, 1.9 million poverty-stricken people will have benefited directly from the employment opportunities created by the project. Their per capita income will be increased by 60 per cent to lift them above the poverty line, the feasibility study and appraisal of the project indicated.

The total investment in the project is about US$364 million, of which 55 per cent will be provided by the World Bank and the rest by local governments and project beneficiaries.

The project has taken two years to prepare for implementation in 183 counties in 12 central and western provinces and autonomous regions. More than 80 per cent of the chosen counties are national-level or provincial-level poverty-stricken areas.

The project is expected to develop tree plantation on 545,000 hectares, said Song Shikui, deputy director of the World Bank loan project management centre at the State Forestry Bureau.

The trees to be planted include exotic and indigenous pines, Chinese fir, and chestnut. The species to be planted in specific areas are chosen carefully to guarantee better economic returns for local people, Song said.

The project also involves a series of technical support services such as improved planting stock development, technical training, monitoring and evaluation, Song said.

To promote further processing of forestry products, the project also includes certain elements related to township and village enterprise development, such as pine resin extraction, wicker works, and parquet and veneer production.

Song said China and the World Bank had been engaged in co-operation in the forestry industry since 1984. Five projects with total loans of US$800 million from the World Bank have been implemented in China.